This man is a U.S. Air Force Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) member, talking about the Close Air Support (CAS) assets currently available to our ground forces fighting radical islamists in Southwest Asia. This individual is a qualified Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC), which means he is the one who calls in airstrikes and rain down hate and judgment on the enemy. In short, he is a CAS expert.

What aircraft does he want providing CAS? The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II. Lately there has been a lot of controversy over the Department of Defense’s plan to retire the U.S. Air Force’s A-10 fleet. Lots of folks, myself included, think that’s a bad idea. Reports from Iraqi news agencies say the U.S. A-10s in specific cause “panic” among the ISIS terrorists during air strikes.

That fact definitely adds to controversy over the discussion. To fuel that fire a little bit more, let’s look at one of the reasons why JTACs like the one in the video say the A-10 dominates the CAS role: The Gun.

Featured image courtesy of the United States Air Force.

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